School’s out for summer, which leaves ample time during the day for students to relax—and for their teachers to recharge and reflect. It’s also an ideal time for them to decide whether union membership is right for them. Unfortunately, it’s also the only time for many of them to decide—the nation’s teachers’ unions, as well as many unions generally, have done a remarkable job of restricting their members’ knowledge of and ability to exercise their rights regarding union membership.

For years, educators have joined teachers’ unions with the assumption that their money advances their profession. Unfortunately, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have morphed from respected education associations to behemoth special interest groups that do little to advance teachers as professionals.

Educators nationwide have grown increasingly frustrated in recent years by the partisan political spending, high dues, and adversarial tactics of their labor unions. In 2012 alone, 140,000 educators left the NEA. This mass exodus has not only gained headlines but has left teachers questioning the value of pricey union membership, which can run as high as $1,200 a year.

While there are thousands of teachers who freely exercise their right to opt out of union membership, many educators are unaware of their options due to roadblocks set up by unions and state laws that favor union bosses over teachers. Millions live in states or districts where they are required to pay dues or fees as a condition of employment. Other are beholden to arbitrary “drop” periods surreptitiously extending their union membership, or are misled to believe they have no other option than the union.

Teachers across the country are constantly subject to laws and policies that keep them from making informed decisions. Such misinformation and convoluted opt-out requirements may be effective for keeping members in the fold, but they’re anti-teacher choice. America’s hardworking teachers deserve more.

Take for instance, Kristi Lacroix, a public school teacher in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kristi spent years as part of her local NEA’s leadership team. After spending time on the inside and voicing opinions contrary to the hardened union line, she attempted to terminate her membership. At the time, Wisconsin’s compulsory union status left her with no choice but to continue to pay a private organization hundreds of dollars simply for the privilege of keeping her job.

Freedom of choice for employees like Kristi is at the heart of why the Association of American Educators was established as a non-union alternative to teacher labor unions. Our organization is adamantly opposed to any policy where teachers are forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. We also believe that teachers, as college-educated professionals, should be able to decide whether union membership matches their own budget and beliefs, rather than being compelled into unions without a choice.

And the fact is, there are many currently-unionized employees across the country who are no longer interested in being represented by their unions, including thousands of teachers. The data on this point is clear: A new national poll of union households by National Employee Freedom Week has found that 33 percent of respondents indicated they would opt out of union membership if given the chance.

Our country’s teachers are a national treasure; they shouldn’t be kept from exercising their rights. The fact remains that educators—as well as the rest of the nation’s employees—deserve to know what rights they have. Only then can they exercise their right to make informed decisions on where to send their hard-earned dollars. After all, it’s not just our students who need to learn that knowledge is power.

Gary Beckner is the Founder and Executive Director of the Association of American Educators.